Looking to return to winning ways in the Enterprise National League, Scunthorpe would travel to their latest opposition in the form of Altrincham. Fresh off the back of appointing interim manager Neil Gibson on a permanent basis, the Robins were bound to be up for the fixture, looking for a bounce-back performance of their own after a recent defeat to Southend.
With the Iron's squad depleted for yet another fixture, first team manager Andy Butler would make just one alteration to his side from last weekend. With club captain Andrew Boyce back from suspension, he was selected to start with Cal Roberts missing out, as he continues to nurse a slight knock. Elsewhere, United's latest addition, Louis Jones, was named amongst the substitutes.
With the game set underway at the J. Davidson Stadium, Scunthorpe would start proceedings brightly with an almost instant attack; however, United wouldn’t remain on the front foot for long as the hosts mounted a forward push of their own.
It would be this early wave of attack from the Robins that created the fixtures’ first real opportunity when Charlie Kirk received the ball on the left flank and looked to arc a cross towards the back post, catching Rory Mahady off guard between the sticks as it soared over his head before crashing against the post and being hooked behind for a corner ball.
From the resultant corner, Alty would threaten again as a deep cross to the back post was left undealt with by the Iron defence as a towering header was sent goalwards from former Blackburn Rovers defender Sam Barnes, only for it to be headed away from the target by a Scunthorpe player who was well placed on the goal line to stop a certain goal.
Following these chances, the Iron would begin to settle into the game with a dominant spell of their own, which would lead to the game’s opening goal, which would come through Carlton Ubaezuonu in spectacular fashion. Although the initial cross into the area was seemingly dealt with by the Altrincham defence, the ball would spiral into the air, with Ubaezuonu the first to react, getting beneath the ball and producing a sensational bicycle kick that soared beyond Luke Hutchinson and into the net for 1-0.
With the lead now intact but still plenty of football to play, Scunthorpe would look to expand on their lead when they flooded forward on the 20-minute mark. After some quick distribution to get the ball moving and to release Tyrell Sellars-Fleming in behind the Altrincham defence, the Hull City loanee would look to square the ball across the penalty area into the path of Zain Westbrooke, whose shot was well blocked by an Altrincham defender to deflect the ball away from the target.
As the half progressed, the sides would alternate between purple patches, and when Rory Mahady was cautioned for bringing down Kharel Reddin in a dangerous area, the hosts would have an excellent chance to level the scores. It would be Matty Kosylo who stood over the set-piece and wrapped the ball around the wall, forcing Mahady to make a tremendous diving stop with a strong palm to push the effort wide.
The encounter’s next action would result in the equaliser for Altrincham as another set-piece was swung into the area and onto the head of Tom Crawford at the front post, whose glancing header was perfectly placed into the bottom corner to level the scores with half-time on the horizon.
In the first half’s last notable action, Scunthorpe would attempt to restore their advantage with one final roll of the dice. With some neat interplay to release to play Alfie Beestin into one appeared like acres of space in the final third. Beestin would lift his head and perform a shot stroke pass to the far post, where Sellars-Fleming was mere inches away from turning it home as it skidded just past his outstretched boot and behind for a goal kick.
With the sky descending into darkness and the game back underway in front of a well-attended crowd, it became almost immediately apparent that both teams had a desire to win the game, starting the half with a high tempo about one another, resulting in a back-and-forth affair.
As the half began to settle down, it was Scunthorpe who took the reins, creating what felt like chance after chance, but to no avail, and in somewhat unfortunate circumstances, with the likes of Beestin coming extremely close from distance when his long-range drive skidded across the face of goal narrowly wide of the mark.
With half an hour remaining, the breakthrough would finally come for United, who were rewarded for their persistence with a well-manufactured second goal from seemingly nowhere. A sensational pass from Tyler Denton would thread the needle through the heart of the Robins’ defence, allowing Beestin to glide into the penalty area undetected and provide the finishing touch with a subtle prod beyond the onrushing Hutchinson to restore United’s lead.
With the hosts now behind for a second time, they would do just as they did in the first period by flooding forward in search of an equaliser, and would conjure a fantastic chance with 68 minutes played when another cross to the far post began to pinball around the box before striker James Gale fired an effort towards Mahady, with the Leeds United loanee producing another superb reflex stop to keep the ball out.
The next action in the fixture would see Scunthorpe earn the opportunity to kill off the game with a swift counterattack. Working the ball from one end to the other at extreme speed, possession would be slotted through to Sellars-Fleming in a wide area, who stung a ferocious effort towards the target, drawing Hutchinson into a crucial reaction save to keep his side in the encounter.
With the game moments away from additional time, the United defence would finally be breached again as a well-worked Altrincham move saw them draw level. It was Reddin’s run down the flank that allowed him to slide the ball across the face of the goal and into the unmarked Kosylo at the far post, who smashed the ball home for another leveller.
From this moment onwards, it was all Altrincham who turned the game on its head in a matter of minutes when a short set-piece routine allowed substitute Oliver Crankshaw to collect the ball on the edge of the box and whip a cross come shot over the head of Mahady, leaving the Scotsman scrambling as it nestled in the top corner to complete a truly unbelievable comeback.
With United now in search of an equaliser, earning a series of corners late on, Mahady would venture forward for the set-pieces as an act of desperation. When the ball came into the area, chaos would ensue as the ball ricocheted around the area before falling to Crankshaw with space to run into and an open goal on the other side. Knocking the ball around the final defender, the winger would place the ball into the empty net to cap off a disappointing defeat on the road for the Iron.
IRON: Mahady, Horton (Howe, 61), Belehouan, Boyce, Beestin (Scales, 79), Rowley, Ubaezuonu, Sellars-Fleming, Starbuck (Rose, 79), Westbrooke, Denton.
IRON SUBS: Jones, Eze, Dawson, Chadwick.
ATTENDANCE: 2,261 (622 away)
REFEREE: Steven Copeland
